IMPORTANT - German Jews persecuted by Hitler listed for first time

BERLIN - Researchers have for the first time compiled a detailed list of around 600,000 German Jews persecuted by the Nazis, officials said Wednesday.

The list gives information such as addresses and deportation dates for the hundreds of thousands of Jews who lived in Germany between Hitler's rise to power in 1933 and his defeat in 1945, said a government statement.

Between 500,000 and 550,000 Jews lived in Germany before 1933. By the end of the war in 1945 only several thousand remained.

The list, however was not definitive and would require further work to make it more accurate, said Germany's Remembrance, Responsibility and Future Foundation which compiled it, adding that it also included the names of Jews who travelled through Germany briefly, such as those fleeing Russia to settle in the United States.

Aimed at facilitating research by both private individuals and historians, it gave victims a "name and a dignity," and ensured that they would not be forgotten, said Hildegard Mueller, minister of state in the chancellery.